Work At Home – Childcare for the Rest of Us

One of the biggest obstacles for a work at home mother or father is childcare. Even though you are work as online e-commerce selling waist trainer, your crying baby or screaming toddler is not going to stop what they are doing just because you have work to do. This same child does not know the consequences of eating all of your Post-It Notes or feeding pretzels to your hard drive.

Keep in mind that the whole reason why you decided to work at home was to make your life less stressful. You were most likely envisioning the elimination of commutes, flexible hours, and lunch with the kids every day.

Well, I have some positive news for you. As an entrepreneur, you have options when it comes to childcare. We will discuss these options below.

Create a Co-Op for Childcare:

If you can organize such a co-op, your daycare problems are most likely solved. With such a childcare co-op, different groups of workers at home parents are assigned a specific day to watch all of the kids of the members of the co-op. Thus, if you are assigned Tuesdays, you will need to set every Tuesday aside to strictly provide daycare. The great thing about such an arrangement is that it only costs a weekday and not money. The disadvantage is that you have to give up a weekday to take care of other people’s kids.

Trading or Parent-swapping:

No, this is nothing like the reality show “Wife Swap.” Rather, it is a smaller version to the childcare co-op. It involves you and a friend trading childcare days. Just make sure you set clear boundaries at the outset about when you will take the other child, and when they will take yours. You do not want to turn into a babysitter so that the other parent can go drinking. You will also want to make sure the kids like each other and get along well. If they dislike each other, you can imagine how things will end up.

Maximizing A Babysitter:

Additionally, you and a friend can coordinate to share one babysitter. The babysitter can watch both families’ children at the same time, and you can share the expense. Conversely, you can agree to utilize the babysitter’s services on alternate days. Whatever you agree upon, make sure that it is clarified in writing and that both parties agree to avoid future issues.

Swapping:

You can swap products or services with a friend or someone in your neighborhood in exchange for their childcare services. Such an arrangement will keep you from having to pay out of pocket.

Childcare:

One thing that you need to realize before you even get started is that although you work at home, business is business. As such, you must treat your business with the same amount of respect as you would a traditional office job. The proper childcare center will reward both parent and child. As a work at home parent, you will be able to focus on your new career. On the other hand, your child will be able to attain social skills by interacting with other children in the same age category. You will have to do your research to determine which childcare facility is best for you and your child. Nonetheless, you will be pleased with your additional efficiency and concentration.

To come up with inexpensive childcare solutions, you must have astute networking abilities. Spread the word that you are looking for childcare to everyone who you know and trust. Just think in terms of trading and business opportunities. You are looking for a partner in the business dealings. This will help you to get what you need. For those of you with kids who work at home, just try your best to get the right childcare for you.